Yahoo Inc. has kicked off an auction for a portfolio of about 3,000 patents expected to fetch more than $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.In recent weeks, the internet company sent letters to a range of potential buyers for the patents, which date back to Yahoo’s initial public offering in 1996 and include its original search technology, one of the people said.

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But if you're wondering whether a billion today will cost MM and Yahoo a billion if an when she finally sells the thing, well...

Verizon Communications Inc., seen as the leading contender, bid about $3 billion for the internet properties before the Monday deadline for second-round bids, a person familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.That figure may be lower than initial estimates on the value of Yahoo’s core business—which analysts said could fetch from $4 billion to $8 billion -- in part because Verizon isn't bidding on the bulk of Yahoo’s most valuable patents.In April, Yahoo assigned 2,659 patents to a separate subsidiary called Excalibur IP LLC, according to a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. That action, seen as a step toward a patent sale, occurred on the same day as the deadline for first-round bids in the auction for Yahoo’s core business.